The Awakening | Rafaelle Louise

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Text: Grace Ng Layout Design: Carlo Abello Cover: Noy Bedaña

The Awakening Rafaelle Louise

Rafaelle Louise’s works for “The Awakening” are inspired by meditation and Zen philosophy. Each work emerges from a singular contemplative experience. Like life itself, this series reflects the origins of structure and circumstance. In line with the concept, the artist emphasizes “suchness” on her art, where purpose lies in accepting matters for the way it is, without words but through visual elements.

Along with Zen practice, Rafaelle Louise’s recent works are also reminiscent of Baroque-- embracing dynamism, theatricality, and elaborate ornamentation. They illustrate how the material world interacts with the divine and the spiritual; becoming an interesting fusion of western and traditional Japanese aesthetics. It features subjects best read as iconic stand-ins for humanity, universal rather than specific. For the artist, they serve as meditations on man’s finite relationship to the infinite.

With her use of metallic pigments, Rafaelle Louise aims to capture radiance and illumination from within. By producing art from a place of self-reflective observation and reverence, she is able to closely examine the unnamable— the honest, raw, unabashed, and precarious aspects of life.

Entirely secular in nature and more personal in scale, “The Awakening” digs deeper than the mere appearance of things, the first level of realism. Rafaelle Louise intends for her art to ask questions of personal and metaphysical concerns, with its meditative quality as means to explore the nature of existence. The exhibition aims to uncover the innate clarity and workability of the mind, and encourage awakening and rediscovery to its audience.

Monogold Series (1 of 5)

Monogold Series (2 of 5)

30 x 24.5 in

30 x 24.5 in

Gypsum, Sand, and Pigment on Wood Panel

Gypsum, Sand, and Pigment on Wood Panel

Monogold Series (4 of 5) 30 x 24.5 in Gypsum, Sand, and Pigment on Wood Panel

Monogold Series (3 of 5) 30 x 24.5 in Gypsum, Sand, and Pigment on Wood Panel

Monogold Series (5 of 5) 30 x 24.5 in Gypsum, Sand, and Pigment on Wood Panel

Study for the Awakening I

Study for the Awakening II

24 x 24 in

24 x 24 in

Gypsum, Sand, Acrylic, and Pigment on Canvas

Gypsum, Sand, Acrylic, and Pigment on Canvas

Cloud 25 x 48.5 in Gypsum, Sand, and Pigment on Wood Panel

Calm Horizon 24 x 72 in Gypsum, Sand, Acrylic, and Pigment on Canvas

Contemplation 42.5 x 30 in Gypsum, Sand, and Pigment on Wood Panel

Eclipse 36.75 x 46.75 in Gypsum, Sand, and Pigment on Wood Panel

Essence 42.5 x 30 in Gypsum, Sand, and Pigment on Wood Panel

Furnace 60 x 48.25 in Gypsum, Sand, Acrylic, and Pigment on Canvas

Passage 42.5 x 30 in Gypsum, Sand, and Pigment on Wood Panel

Precipice 72 x 48 in Gypsum, Sand, and Pigment on Wood Panel

Rebirth 41 x 41 in Gypsum, Sand, and Pigment on Canvas

Samsāra 42 x 42 in Gypsum, Sand, and Pigment on Canvas

The Awakening 60.25 x 72.5 in Gypsum, Sand, and Pigment on Canvas

White Rain 42.5 x 30 in Gypsum, Sand, Acrylic, and Pigment on Wood Panel